Worth Another Listen - Michael Johnson

The year was 1978, the year I completed my education at Smyrna High School. One of the songs of the summer was by a folk/rock singer with a bit of a jazz twist to his music. Michael Johnson made a startling move on the charts with his first single, Bluer Than Blue, from his eponymous fourth album. Maybe it was all the teenage hormones, or just the trauma and drama of high school, but we all loved the song. Johnson's debut made it to #12 on the Billlboard Pop chart, as well as topping the Adult Contemporary chart. Here is Bluer Than Blue.



That was not the only song of Johnson's to hit the Top 20 on the Pop chart. There was one other, and it was the first single from Dialogue. This Night Won't Last Forever was released in 1979, and made it to #19 on the Pop chart, and #5 on Adult Contemporary.



The second single off the album, and perhaps my favorite song on the album, was Johnson's reworking of a classic Lerner & Loewe from the 1947 Broadway show Brigadoon. The cover of Almost Like Being In Love had a sweet yet sexy jazz flavor, propelling it to #32 on the Pop chart, and #4 on Adult Contemporary.



Johnson was never able to recapture that success on the Pop charts, but by the mid-80s, had taken to a country sound, and was rewarded with several hits on the Country chart. He had five Top Ten songs on the charts, including the lovely The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulders,one of his two #1 songs.



To find out more about Michael Johnson, check out his official website here.